It's most definitely here. Our produce aisle's color scheme is now highlighted with the warm reds, oranges, and golds of Autumn. Local apples are in, the winter squash is appearing.

Let's celebrate the seasonal cycle by getting outdoors, and experiencing some of the best, local harvest events. Here is a short list of festivals around the Bay. There is something going on each October weekend:

Brentwood Fall Festival at Frog Hollow FarmOctober 13thU-Pick Pink Lady apples, take a class on pie making, puppet making for children, walking tours of the orchard, pumpkin patch, farmer's market, and music by the Mt. Diablo String Band

Half Moon Bay Pumpkin FestivalOctober 19thThe World Pumpkin Mecca celebrates the Great Gourd! Arts and Music fill this class Bay Area Fall festival, pancake breakfasts, pumpkin-flavored treats, and a pumpkin weigh-off, and the sculpting of a monster pumpkin. More...

Labor Day is his­tory, the new Bay Bridge is open, and school is definitely in session. With the new year comes the yearning to keep lunches interesting and delicious. But, how?

Think New York Del­i­catessen, 1933. This is the kind of authentic, pre­mium lunch meat you can still find at Pied­mont Gro­cery, thanks to Boar's Head. There is some­thing for everyone in their fan­tastic line of pre­mium meats, cheese and condi­ments. From tra­di­tional to spicy, from Pro­volone to Chipotle Chicken Breast, from Sauer­kraut to Cajun Style May­on­naise, it's all there.Read More...

A strong malt back­bone is del­i­cately bal­anced with hop bit­ter­ness to create an Okto­ber­fest with a deep amber color and rich caramel flavor. It's full flavor is medium-dry, and never overpowering.

This new beer is avail­able August through Sep­tember from Pyramid Breweries.Read More...

Best Ever Applesauce Recipe

From Amy and our What's For Dinner Wednesday recipe blog

A Change is in the Air

Ever have one of those moments where a sound or a scent trans­ports you back to a favorite memory? That hap­pened to me last Sunday morning and it made me smile because that moment told me, more accu­rately than any cal­endar could, that the Fall season is fast approaching.

Let me explain.

We have had some warm nights recently, so my hus­band and I have taken to sleeping with the window cracked a little bit to take advan­tage of any breeze that might blow our way. This is why on Sunday morning, I awoke to the sound of the freight train in the dis­tance and a light breeze that had a cool bite to it. There is some­thing about the sound of a train and a cool breeze that takes me back to waking up on Sat­ur­days in Eugene, Oregon, with fallen leaves on the ground, the smell of a wood fire hanging in the air, and stu­dents walking along the Willamette River to Autzen staduim to watch the foot­ball game. In my mind there is nothing that paints a more accu­rate pic­ture of the Fall season, and It hap­pens every time I hear that train.

Even if the train thing hadn't hap­pened, I would know that Fall is upon us merely because I find myself buying a lot more apples, and using them for more that just school lunches. My favorite way to use the great sea­sonal apples that are now avail­able is to make apple­sauce. We use apple­sauce a lot in my family. We eat it straight, or on pork, or even mixed into the pan­cake batter on the weekend. Some­times, I spread some on a ham sand­wich. (Yes, I've been known to do weird stuff like that.)

Below is my favorite recipe for apple­sauce from Alice Waters' cook­book Chez Panisse Fruit--which is an incred­ible book, by the way. There couldn't be an easier recipe, and it's a per­fect way to cel­e­brate the begin­ning of Fall.